In ancient time, South East Asia has been a bustling place for trading. Many Chinese traders came to this area and ended up marrying local women and remains here. They are the ancestors of the ‘peranakans’. Peranakan in Malaya means ‘born of/child of’.  This is a term generally used to refer to an ethnic group of mixed origins especially with Chinese origin. The mix marriage brings a distinct mix of culture and traditions too. In Singapore, ‘peranakan communities is much more complex with many different communities depending on the ethnix mix such as ‘Chitty Melaka’ and ‘Jawi Paranakans’. In Indonesia, Chinese peranakans is known as ‘Tinghoa’ people.

Peranakan Wedding Tradition, from Peranakan Museum

Tionghoa people in Indonesia are more or less orphans. The Indonesians do not really acknowledge Tionghoa people as a real part of their community while at the same time no other country would like to embrace us as theirs – not even China. Tionghoa people suffers from discrimination and prosecutions in Indonesia. Remember the Riots in 1998? Many Indonesians see Tionghoa people as the ‘nation robber’, a group of rich men who are stealing the locals money. A stereotype which comes from the fact that many Tionghoa people are successful businessmen. This is rooted from the colonial times when the Dutch put Tionghoa people as second class and were allowed to received education. Therefore, after the independence, many Tionghoa people are more educated than the locals. I do have to admit that this discrimination is partly ‘our’ fault. Many Tionghoa people thinks they are more suprior than the locals and do not want to mix with them. Thankfully, this attitude is disappearing among the young Tionghoa people.

Being Tionghoa myself, I am always curious about my origin. My grandparents brought me up with various Chinese folktales which bear strong Daoist values. Bit by bit I get more and more curious about my family tradition.  Unlike the young generations now who are able to explore the Tionghoa tradition and learn Mandarin, I was not able to do so as, sadly, Indonesian government banned any Chinese traditions (in suspicion of Communism) till 2001. Nevertheless, the damage is too deep. Many Tionghoa people hardly practice their tradition. Some of my relatives are trying to revive the tradition but it is tough. Nevertheless, we can still spot we (Tionghoa people) can spot each other – it is rooted in the way we talk, body language, and distinct culture we have. Now, we even feel lost among Chinese people.

Peranakan Museum, Singapore

My visit to Singapore’s Peranakan Museum was momentous. I enjoyed the visit thoroughly as I could learn my missing past. Aside from that, it also brought back so much of my old memories when I was little, the games, the costumes, and the traditions. Sure, there are some differences as Tionghoa people in Indonesia were strongly influenced by the Dutch while Chinese Peranakans in Singapore were strongly influenced by the British, I do still miss some of the missing pieces. I think the Tionghoa community should build their own Museum in Indonesia.

Traditional tea serving, Tea Chapter - Singapore

Another unforgettable moment was when I visit a tea house called ‘Tea Chapter‘ in China Town. Here, I was impressed with the art of preparing and drinking tea in Chinese tradition with Tea Masters themselves!  A nice place to unwind after all your shopping and tours in Singapore!

Colourful angkot in Bandung

No need of bungee-jumping or paragliding in Indonesia, a simple local public transport can be very satisfying in all cities. All thrill-seekers can enjoy the suspense – always –  from a simple trip to work or just for fun by hanging on the edge of this doorless public transport called “angkot“. It comes in very colourful ‘packages’ and various tracks: straight, winding, and up-and-downhill. Complete with live music of creative honks for 24 hours straight – day or night! Not recommended for Health and Safety Officers or anyone with weak heart or asthma.

The suspense of clinging on the door in 80km/h is superb!

It seems to me that everyone has baggage. It may look different for each person, but I have never met a person that isn’t afflicted by some nagging sore spot, some persistent doubt.

For some this baggage comes in the form of physical challenges. It might be one’s height, weight, or natural intellect. It might be some health issue such as back pain, eyesight, hearing, hemorrhoids, reproductive issues, depression, arthritis, auto-immune disease, accident, cancer, … whatever.

For others baggage takes the form of situational challenges and disappointments such as: financial insecurity, loss of job, uncertainty of career, loss of a loved one, foreclosure, failed relationships, and disappointments of many kinds.

It’s called baggage because we carry it with us wherever we go.

One personal philosophy for dealing with it might be to pretend that the baggage does not exist. We paste on a smiling face and keep a positive outlook that defies reality. The problem with this approach is that it is shallow and unsustainable. This kind of unrealistic fanaticism sets us up for implosion, and makes us useless to those around us who suffer. In the short run it may seem to provide relief from pain, but in the long run failure to deal with the underlying disease will result in a kind of internal rot that eventually results in the collapse of one’s house.

It’s hard to make sense of it all because there are so many people around us who seem to be living the life of unimpeded personal peace and prosperity. Everyone drives a car, and most drive very nice cars, and some drive luxury cars. There are very few people on the street, and most people have very nice homes. People dress nicely, go places, do things, and for the most part seem to have it all. Perhaps this would look differently in country that is war-torn, impoverished or starving. But around me it is frustrating in a different way. Here, I walk along with my baggage imagining that all these happy people are immune from suffering, and I wonder, “Why can’t I seem to get a break?” Every time I get a leg up, it seems like more of the same crap, just a different toilet. I am alone in a stream tumbling along like some discarded Styrofoam cup.

No matter what it might seem, we are not alone in our suffering. No matter how good a front our neighbor puts up we are never more than a fraction of a millimeter from baggage. We live in a gilded world, silver and gold plate on the surface, and raw reality on the inside.

The bad news is the same. We should never be surprised by suffering. Whether one has a spiritual view of the universe or a naturalistic one, there is no reason to think that one will ever be immune from suffering. From a spiritual perspective, the world is thoroughly corrupt; it is fallen. That means that death is everywhere; in nature, in us, in relationships, in our thoughts, everywhere. From a spiritual perspective, this world is not our home and until we are home we will always long for more.

This is one area where naturalism and the spiritual converge, because even from a natural perspective, entropy is an unrelenting reality – a law. The universe is disbanding, and without the intervention of an outside source (supranatural power), all things decay. Nevertheless, the naturalist must somehow come to grips with the reality of decay and acknowledge that any short term gains in the human condition are mere insignificant blips in the inevitable ruin of all things. A constant reminder of this is our own human death.

My ‘baggage’ has made me realise that I have a longing, a strong desire, that this world cannot satisfy. Scientists, sociologists, psychologists, and other experts can give us all sorts of technical explanations, but we all know from experience that there are things that we cannot explain – especially this ‘feeling of ‘missing something”. CS Lewis coined it as ‘sehnsucht‘ – a German word for yearning or craving. Sehnsucht is sometimes felt as a longing for a far off country, but not a particular earthly land which we can identify. Furthermore, there is something in the experience which suggests this far off country is very familiar and indicative of what we might otherwise call “home”. In this sense it is a type of nostalgia, in the original sense of that word. At other times it may seem as a longing for a someone or even a something. But the majority of people who experience it are not conscious of what or who the longed for object may be, and the longing is of such profundity and intensity that the subject may immediately be only aware of the emotion itself and not cognizant that there is a something longed for. Lewis then added, “if I discover within myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” I think this is a hint of what we call ‘heaven’ – in a spiritual approach surely (I still cannot really discover what a naturalist would call this ‘another world’). This sehnsucht gives me hope that life in this world is ‘not just it all’. There is still more to come – so to speak.

I used to think hope didn’t seem like that great of a reward compared to the pain of suffering, perseverance, and character building.  I’m beginning to see, however, that if I could attain and hold onto that “hope that doesn’t disappoint,” if I could see the present through the lens of eternity, my present life would be changed for the better. It is my life and you…

Dear Joshua,

I heard it is extreme winter in Europe now? Oh, I miss the snow so much. People here in Indonesia pay a fortune just to touch the snow!

In regards with acceleration process, I agree with you, and Einstein f0r that matter. Einstein said,

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

I found the illustration above on one of my friend’s blog, it explains a lot. Now, the task comes to the educators to come up with a much better and fairer ‘exam’. It is not an easy task in this multicultural and complex society.

ps: Have you watched Iron Lady?

Yours,

Hosea

Dearest Joshua,

Xin Nien Kuai Le! It’s the year of Water Dragon!

Hope you are well as usual! Hartelijk dank voor je oneindige gebeden! I really appreciate it. I do hope you agree with me that we can make our correspondences public again – it is a new year ahead of us anyway!

Your thoughts about ‘acceleration process’ is interesting. If things can go faster, why do we need to make it slower? I do agree with your statement but I doubt it can be generalised. We can apply that ‘principal’ (maybe) in various governmental bureaucracies but things that involve ‘creatures’ like us, it is much more complicated. We always want fast-ripened fruits but we know that fast-ripened using various ripening agents are not as sweet as the naturally-ripened fruits.

We see in various parts in Indonesia (and maybe also other parts of the world) that children aged three or four are taught to read, write, and calculate. Mrs. Lies, one of my career mentors, always reminds me of the balance between the right and left brain – between IQ and EQ, and also many other ‘quotients’. These children may well be smart but are they emotionally ready to face the challenges in real life? Do they have enough time to explore their own identity – not their parents’? I may well say this from much more ‘western perspective’ but I do believe that this is important aspects to consider.

Source: Mercedes Benz

In late 2004, just when I entered university, I had such deep regret. Regret of not getting into ‘accelerated program’ during junior and senior high school which would have ‘saved’ me 2 years in my life and getting to university at younger age. Now? I am actually grateful that I got through the whole process of ‘ordinary program’ – I had my own ‘bad experience’ in a fast-tracked program.  That way, I had enough time to really discover myself and find out what I really want. This is the same advice I keep on giving to my mentees. It is not just finding out about ourselves but also the ‘destination’ or ‘dreams’ we want to achieve inside-out. We may dream to be a zoo keeper, but do we know how and what this kind of job is like?

I think I have to stop here. It is getting late and I still have things to do. I promise I will answer your other question about ‘my culture shock and adaptation’ in Indonesia – after 7 years leaving this country. Please do drop your thoughts about ‘acceleration processes’. Would you agree on accelerated education program?

Oremus pro invicem

Best wishes from Bandung,

Hosea

Note to the readers: it has been awhile since I wrote Letters to Joshua (LtJ). I had to stop and blog selectively due to external circumstances.  My apology for this and I would like to express my gratitude to my blog readers who ceaselessly expressing their interests in the continuation of LtJ.